Charley Melvin Mad Bomber Run for Your Life

The Charley Melvin Mad Bomber Run For Your Life is a unique 10K/5K run and 3K walk that draws hundreds of runners and walkers from throughout the Midwest to Iola, Kansas each July. It commemorates the 1905 dynamite bombing of three saloons just after midnight by a local prohibitionist, Charley Melvin. This event brought national attention to the then-lawless boomtown of Iola, Kansas…and broke a whole lot of bottles! We’ve taken a destructive event and turned it into something positive for our community, and we have a whole lot of fun doing it.

The 5K run and 3K walk begins at 12:26 AM with a blast worthy of Charley himself, giving our runners and walkers (and locals sleeping in their beds) a jolt. But the fun begins much earlier, with an action-packed slate of activities starting at 5 PM Saturday on the Iola square. The 10K run begins at Midnight!

Bring the kids for the carnival on the courthouse lawn. Listen to live music. Be dazzled at the Parade of Lights. Come early for the…ahem…drag race, where men sprint in dresses (the women wear overalls and mustaches) to the delight of hundreds.

Bask in the charm and friendliness of our little town.

Trust us: whatever you do, you’ll have…well, a blast.